1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to eyeglass holders or retaining devices for holding the arms or ear stems of a pair of sunglasses, eyeglasses, or the like on a hat, visor or other headwear.
2. Related Art
One problem when wearing sunglasses or eyeglasses is how to hold the glasses temporarily when not needed, for example when going indoors to a store, restaurant or a darker place, or when an individual only needs to wear eyeglasses for certain activities, such as seeing at a distance, but needs to remove the glasses in order to read something at a close distance. In some cases, chains or straps are secured to the glasses so that they can be suspended around the wearer's neck when not needed, but this solution is not ideal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,059 of Morris describes fasteners which are adapted to be secured on opposite sides of a hat and include structure for holding the arms of a pair of safety glasses with the front of the glasses in an upright orientation and extending across the front of the hat. The fasteners are relatively tall or long, with the arm holding structure at the upper end, in order to accommodate the height of the glasses across the front of the hat. Another eyeglass retaining device for clipping the arms of eyeglasses on opposite sides of a hat is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,172 of Presswood, Jr. et al. Again, the glasses are supported in an upright orientation and the arms are gripped at a location spaced above the lower rim of the hat by a distance substantially equal to the height of the glasses.